Samba Financial Group
Encyclopedia
Samba Financial Group is a large banking firm in Saudi Arabia
. The combined institution had 66 branches in the Kingdom. Its international operations consist of a branch each in London and Dubai, as well as a subsidiary that has 28 branches across major cities in Pakistan
.
branches in Jeddah
and Riyadh
in accordance with a Saudi nostrification program that forced all foreign banks to convert their branches to affiliates with Saudi nationals acquiring at least 60% ownership. Citigroup
entered a Technical Management Agreement under which it agreed to manage the new bank. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz
, was the Managing Director of the bank in the 1990s.
First National City Bank (Citibank
) opened its Jeddah branch in 1955, and its Riyadh branch in 1966. Citibank created SAMBA, in which it took a 40% share, to take over its branches in Saudi Arabia, pursuant to a Royal Decree on February 12, 1980. In 1985 SAMBA opened a branch in Istanbul
that it closed after 1994, and at one point maintained a subsidiary in Geneva and a representative office in Beirut. In the late 1980s SAMBA opened a branch in London.
In July 1999 SAMBA merged with United Saudi Bank by an exchange of shares, to form one of the largest banks in the Middle East. Before the merger Citibank owned 30 percent of SAMBA, having sold a 10 percent tranche to two public agencies in 1991. After the merger Citibank was still the largest shareholder with 23 percent of the shares. Kingdom Holding Company (owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal) also had a large share ownership deriving from his ownership in United Saudi Bank.
SAMBA was always the acronym for the Saudi American Bank but the name was changed to Samba Financial Group permanently in 2003 and all references to Saudi American Bank were removed. This name change followed Citibank's decision to pull out of Saudi Arabia and sell its by then 20% stake to the General Organisation for Social Insurance. Officially, this was done due to the anticipated relaxation of laws governing foreign banks' operations in the Kingdom. Some speculate, that this was due to rising anti-American sentiment in Saudi Arabia
. This has become more evident after the change of the Saudi British Bank name as well to SABB in 2006. Nevertheless SABB is still an HSBC
partnership and they have changed their artwork and colors from Green and White to the HSBC logo.
In March 2007, Samba Financial Group acquired 68% of Crescent Commercial Bank Limited (CCBL) in Pakistan
. CCBL, established in 2002, was formerly known as Mashreq Bank Pakistan Limited, which in turn was the result of the merger in 2003 of Crescent Investment Bank Limited and the Pakistan branches of Mashreq Bank psc.
In 2008, Samba opened a branch in Dubai.
In August 2011, Samba made the list of top ten safest banks 2011 in the Middle East ranked at number four.
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. The combined institution had 66 branches in the Kingdom. Its international operations consist of a branch each in London and Dubai, as well as a subsidiary that has 28 branches across major cities in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
History
Samba, or The Saudi American Bank as it was once known, was established on February 12 1980 with the takeover of CitibankCitibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
branches in Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...
and Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
in accordance with a Saudi nostrification program that forced all foreign banks to convert their branches to affiliates with Saudi nationals acquiring at least 60% ownership. Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
entered a Technical Management Agreement under which it agreed to manage the new bank. The former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz is a world acclaimed Pakistani economist who was the 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan from May 20, 2004 to 15 November 2007 in a joint military government led by General Pervez Musharraf. A Citibank executive, Aziz returned to Pakistan from the United States to be became Finance...
, was the Managing Director of the bank in the 1990s.
First National City Bank (Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
) opened its Jeddah branch in 1955, and its Riyadh branch in 1966. Citibank created SAMBA, in which it took a 40% share, to take over its branches in Saudi Arabia, pursuant to a Royal Decree on February 12, 1980. In 1985 SAMBA opened a branch in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
that it closed after 1994, and at one point maintained a subsidiary in Geneva and a representative office in Beirut. In the late 1980s SAMBA opened a branch in London.
In July 1999 SAMBA merged with United Saudi Bank by an exchange of shares, to form one of the largest banks in the Middle East. Before the merger Citibank owned 30 percent of SAMBA, having sold a 10 percent tranche to two public agencies in 1991. After the merger Citibank was still the largest shareholder with 23 percent of the shares. Kingdom Holding Company (owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal) also had a large share ownership deriving from his ownership in United Saudi Bank.
SAMBA was always the acronym for the Saudi American Bank but the name was changed to Samba Financial Group permanently in 2003 and all references to Saudi American Bank were removed. This name change followed Citibank's decision to pull out of Saudi Arabia and sell its by then 20% stake to the General Organisation for Social Insurance. Officially, this was done due to the anticipated relaxation of laws governing foreign banks' operations in the Kingdom. Some speculate, that this was due to rising anti-American sentiment in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. This has become more evident after the change of the Saudi British Bank name as well to SABB in 2006. Nevertheless SABB is still an HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
partnership and they have changed their artwork and colors from Green and White to the HSBC logo.
In March 2007, Samba Financial Group acquired 68% of Crescent Commercial Bank Limited (CCBL) in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. CCBL, established in 2002, was formerly known as Mashreq Bank Pakistan Limited, which in turn was the result of the merger in 2003 of Crescent Investment Bank Limited and the Pakistan branches of Mashreq Bank psc.
In 2008, Samba opened a branch in Dubai.
In August 2011, Samba made the list of top ten safest banks 2011 in the Middle East ranked at number four.